Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is considering approving the idea of having more teams make the playoffs. The ancient and mind numbed boy wonder is about to degrade MLB yet again.
There's a bullet proof idea to prevent the increased number of MLB playoff teams from making the MLB system an even bigger mockery than it already is.
Here's the solution: do like the NFL, which went to its current system in 1990. NFL twenty years ahead of MLB? That's about right.
In each MLB conference, uh league, increase the number of playoff teams by 50%, i.e., from 4 to 6. Then:
The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference receive a bye in the first round, which entitles these teams to automatic advancement to the second round.
A bye? For MLB? After playing only 162 regular season games? Buddy boy's head will explode over this one.
Yes!
The other four teams can engage in one of two options:
1. play a three game series
2. play a one game play-in game.
I prefer option 2. It keeps the wait for the start of the real playoffs to a minimum and increases the pressure and interest in that one big game.
Either way the bye would finally return some amount of validity to the longest regular season of all major North American professional leagues:
MLB 162
NBA 82
NFL 16.
Try not to dismiss it out of hand as you know who would: old Buddy boy.
The bye would give an unfair advantage to the top two seeds, you say. Of course, that's the idea. These teams have just played ONE-HUNDRED-SIXTY-TWO games and clearly proved their merit. Only dumb greed forces them to submit to the idiocy of a playoff system. The least they can have is an advantage over teams that should not be allowed to continue playing. If the lower seeds can succeed with this burden then they have removed some of lack of credibility.
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